St. Valentine
Patron of Love, Young People, Happy Marriages
Died: 269
Click Here for St. Valentine Prayer's
Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith ineffectual, commanded him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270. Pope Julius I is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole to his memory, which for a long time gave name to the gate now called Porta del Popolo, formerly, Porta Valetini. The greatest part of his relics are now in the church of St. Praxedes. His name is celebrated as that of an illustrious martyr in the sacramentary of St. Gregory, the Roman Missal of Thomasius, in the calendar of F. Fronto and that of Allatius, in Bede, Usuard, Ado, Notker and all other martyrologies on this day. To abolish the heathens lewd superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of girls, in honor of their goddess Februata Juno, on the fifteenth of this month, several zealous pastors substituted the names of saints in billets given on this day.
The Origin of St. Valentine
The origin of St. Valentine, and how many St. Valentines there were, remains a mystery. One opinion is that he was a Roman martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. Other historians hold that St. Valentine was a temple priest jailed for defiance during the reign of Claudius. Whoever he was, Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.
The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a The Nuremberg Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. [Additional evidence that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.] Alongside a woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].
Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine."
St. Valentine was a Priest, martyred in 269 at Rome and was buried on the Flaminian Way. He is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses.
Previous Saint
< Pope Valentine
Next Saint
St. Valentina & Thea >

Rate This Saint
Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All
Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested
1 - 20 of 296 Comments
Leave a Comment
Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.
Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.
This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.
We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.
We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.
Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample
Previous Saint
< Pope Valentine
Next Saint
St. Valentina & Thea >
Find Saints
Catholic Online offers the largest searchable database of Catholic Saints on the internet.
| Browse Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| Patron Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Videos
St. Francis of Assisi 78,543 views View Video
Padre Pio 47,043 views View Video
Black Saints Vol I 30,360 views View Video
Black Saints Vol II 26,966 views View Video
Most Popular
Editorial: Is the Scandal Ridden Obama Administration Becoming a House of Cards? Read More
There's the problem! Americans are out of touch with scientific consensus on climate change Read More
Did God make junk? Scientists say 98 percent of human genome is junk Read More
Sex In Uniform: Why the Increase in Sexual Assaults in the Military? Read More
Why Pope Francis Doesn't Give Communion Read More
Daily Readings
Reading 1, Acts 2:1-11
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when ... Read More
Psalm, Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! ... Read More
Gospel, John 20:19-23
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the ... Read More
Reading 2, First Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
Because of that, I want to make it quite clear to you that no ... Read More
Saint of the Day
St. Celestine
May 19: When the father of this Italian saint died, his good mother ... Read More
Latest Videos
Pope to Pontifical Missionary Works: Your work is still relevant View Video
Pope rails against dictatorship of the economy View Video
May Crowning of the Virgin Mary - St Philip The Apostle Catholic Church View Video
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School Visit to Ogwen Cottage May 2013 View Video
May 17 - Homily: St. Paschal, Profound Love For The Eucharist View Video
Marketplace
The Virgin Mary and the Apostles of the Last Times Read More
Surge of the Heart
Jon Leonetti has dedicated his life to engaging Catholics by ... Read More




















Dear Saint Valentine,
please pray for me and my boyfriend that we make it through this .he has a friend that has been trying to break us up .so she can be with him in stead of her being happy he found someone he's been wanting to be with ...she been texting him and saying things to him to get him to go her way .I klnow he loves me but just can't for some resion tell her to leave him alone .... he choose me to be with and even asked me to live with him all I ask is for him and I to have a happy loving life together and for her to find someone else to be happy with and leave him alone .I know when she texts him he get's funny with me .....please help us live the happy loving live we both want together .I lost my first true love 6 years ago to cancer and have been very unhappy and alone and now that I have what I have been looking for I don't wan't to losse it thank you Veronica
I remember back in the 1960's when it was still called 'St. Valentine Day', now the far left wing extremists are trying rid us of history. Thank you for the source of Truth. Before you know it, St. Patricks Day will become Patricks Day.
St. Valentine, please pray for all the young people, to be guided in the right way.
Soulmate Prayer
Dear God, Loving Essence of all there is. Please fill me with your sacred presence.
I ask for your Love and Guidance And for your blessings
As I explore the deep reaches of my heart I ask for you assistance
In releasing that which stands in the way of true love.
My heart is pure; my intentions clear. lease bring to me my most perfect partner.
I seek a partner who enhances me by his/her very being.
who brings more love, joy, peace and prosperity to my life,
Who I can love fully and who can fully receive my love,
Who loves, honors and cherishes me completely, and always.
May my heart be open and my head be clear.
May my life be ready to welcome True love.
May I be embraced in a circle of your love
An uplifted by your grace. And so it is.
Dear St. Valentine,
I like St. Valentine and beans. Woo woo woo.
Love,
Mimi
A terrific article. For the first time in my life I actually learned something about St. Valentine. This is what I get for relying on Liberal biased encyclopedias that wrote that Valentine was a pagan Roman figure who became legend for his Love poetry and the use of Cupids the pagan mythological creatures of love. I didn't know that archeologists had discovered his grave in the 1930's. Thank you for educating us with the true information.
St Valentine pls help me strengthen d luv btw mua nd ma boifrnd....Amen
Dear Saint,
Kindly pray for our family that my wife and I live together in love until death departs. Enable us to be more understanding and caring, united in the love of Christ. Help us to live and cherish christian values and bring up our children in that faith. Give us the strength and courage to overcome our difficulties of mistrust and suspicion. We truly believe that you are watching over our married life and continue to pray for us. Amen.
Saint Valentine please pray for my marriage and for all marriages that honor our God. May we continue to be blessed with the Father's loving grace. Thanks be to God for Saint Valentine who prays for us.
I like to contemplate on Saint Valentine on Valentine's Day. Thank You.
Please pray for Jacob that he finds the right path and peace, for his mother that the doctors can slow the progression of her disease and for all cancer patients that we deal with our disease woth grace and dignity. Thank you.
dear saint val
everyday of our life we av to show luv
to people around us especially d less privilege,poor,loveless,
good page you can learn so much
St. Valentine please pray for me and my family
God Bless us all
Amen
(Fr) St. Valentine may your good moral be an exemplary teacher for all the youth of our time, and all the priests that have dented our Church with bad conducts and lack of discipline, and may you continually pray for our evil days that sovereign God will answer this world on time by sending back His son for the mercy of the righteous in Jesus Name Amen.
Thank you St. Valentine for your help :) may many others be blessed by your intercessions
happy feast day St. Valentine. please help me to find the right woman to marry. thank you
Great Saint Valentine,i pray dat we may always be the right persons to others in every rela8nship.thanks alot for interceedn for us.
Pray that love continues 2 spread among mankind. Thru the intercetion of St.Valentine
Dear Saint Valentine,
Thank you for praying for us. I hope that you can pray for broken hearts to be mended if it is
the will of the lord. I myself have a great guy although We have had many struggles...and needless ones, please help us to work it out for life. I want to be with him always as he is my best friend, I know he loves me as well. If it is gods will can you please intercede and ask him to help us be more understanding of eachother. Thank you st. valentine for listening to all of our prayers and for the miracles of love that you help to restore, and help others to find. Please pray for the kingdom of heaven to be big enough for us all who really try and want to be there for eternal life.
Thank you